"What!?"
The scene before him left Uchiha Shinji dumbfounded.
Reality had once again taught him what it meant to be utterly unexpected, what it meant for anything to be possible!
Neji, frantic, stammered, "M-my lord, what's happening? Why… why is it like this!?"
Not only Neji, but even the typically stoic Kimimaro was visibly stunned.
"Don't panic!"
Shinji gave a brief command and stepped forward to investigate.
Before his eyes, Neji and Kimimaro were fused back-to-back, connected by the halves of their respective "biological exoskeletons."
From the outside, the two halves seemed to have temporarily merged into a single whole.
Shinji quickly used the Byakugan wielded by Susanoo Tomoshibi to meticulously examine the exoskeleton's interior. Gradually, the shock in his eyes turned to solemnity!
His original intent in summoning Kimimaro was to use the seals in Kimimaro's half-exoskeleton to control the hyperactive half on Neji.
But before he could act, Neji's activated exoskeleton, through resonance, had counter-controlled Kimimaro's half, forcibly merging them and breaking all the seals in Kimimaro's exoskeleton.
This was truly a case of losing both the bait and the fish!
After grasping the situation, Shinji asked Neji and Kimimaro, "How do you two feel?"
"Uh…"
Neji opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
Kimimaro was blunt. "Good!"
"Good!?"
Shinji's brow furrowed.
Kimimaro, moving his limbs, explained, "I feel my chakra has increased manyfold. The chest tightness from my Bloodline Limit disease has also eased significantly."
Neji added, "My experience is similar to 'F's! As for the chakra increase, it's likely because our chakra is being shared, making it feel like it's multiplied."
Shinji's frown deepened.
Clearly, when Neji said "our," he wasn't just referring to himself and Kimimaro but included the "biological exoskeleton" as well.
In other words, in this bizarre fused state, Neji, Kimimaro, and the activated exoskeleton could share each other's chakra.
After a moment's thought, Shinji suddenly asked, "Can you feel it?"
Neji first shook his head, then paused and nodded.
Kimimaro nodded directly. "Yes, it's not interfering with me now. I can clearly feel it."
"I see."
Shinji grew pensive.
Through his wielded Byakugan, he could see that the chakra activity in the exoskeleton, which fused Neji and Kimimaro, was no longer as intense as before.
Based on experience, he judged that the merged exoskeleton had entered a stable phase of activation. The sentience awakened by the Tenseigan chakra from the giant Tenseigan was slowly maturing within its flesh.
Moreover, since both Neji and Kimimaro could access the exoskeleton's chakra, the activated exoskeleton wasn't rejecting them. In fact, it seemed to treat them as part of its own body.
Analyzing this, Shinji's expression grew even graver.
Undoubtedly, through the confluence of himself, Neji, Kimimaro, and the giant Tenseigan, a new lifeform had been unintentionally created.
Unlike the puppets on the Moon with rudimentary sentience, this lifeform was truly flesh and blood!
"How did things turn out like this!?"
Shinji was at a loss for words.
To ensure the success of the Tenseigan Plan, he had prepared numerous contingencies and considered countless possibilities, yet he hadn't anticipated this.
Now, he couldn't even clearly assess how this development would impact his Tenseigan Plan!
Neji asked again, "My lord, what do we do now?"
Neji's question snapped Shinji out of his scattered thoughts, reminding him that the immediate issue needed addressing.
Shinji circled the two, observing and questioning.
Under his guidance, Neji and Kimimaro began exploring their strange fused state.
Suddenly, Neji said, "My lord, I can actually control 'F's body!"
Kimimaro added, "Same here. I can feel 'G's senses—I can see his field of vision!"
Shinji murmured, "It's more complex than I thought!"
Being able to control each other's bodies and share senses indicated a level of fusion akin to a true merger.
In other words, the exoskeleton wasn't merely gluing Neji and Kimimaro together—it had fused them, or rather, all three entities, in a way Shinji couldn't yet fully comprehend!
As Shinji analyzed silently, Neji and Kimimaro continued their experiments.
They first tried moving, stumbling a few times before grasping the knack. Then they realized that having two sets of hands, feet, and heads, while inconvenient, offered unexpected advantages.
For instance, an extra head meant an additional field of vision.
Neji's Byakugan offered near-360° sight, but his attention was limited. With two people coordinating, their combined focus would be far more efficient.
The extra hands and feet were even more advantageous, allowing them to wield more ninja tools or engage in taijutsu while simultaneously forming hand signs for ninjutsu.
Of course, this all hinged on Neji and Kimimaro adapting seamlessly and dividing tasks effectively.
Achieving that was no easy feat!
Shinji, observing their exploration of this fused state, pondered deeper issues.
Currently, Neji and Kimimaro could experiment without interference because the exoskeleton, for some unknown reason, was in a dormant state, relinquishing control.
But if the sentient exoskeleton awoke from its slumber, who would truly control this body among the three?